Big Moon Ballad

Chapter 2628 Loss
"Shaking the mountain!"

With Mr. Haoran's roar, the battle between the Water Academy Headmaster and the Fire Academy Headmaster, which had not occurred for a long time since the establishment of Jixia Academy, began.

Two completely different sword techniques, water and fire, met in the open space.

During the ranking ceremony, Ji Jiashu witnessed Ying Baoyue fighting against his father using the Water Magic Sword.

Mr. Ke Zhenshan's water magic sword is not the same as Ying Baoyue's water magic sword, and Mr. Haoran's fire magic sword is not the same as Ji Mo's fire magic sword.

Mr. Zhenshan's Water Sword Technique is purer. Unlike Ying Baoyue, who incorporated various schools of sword techniques, he truly brought the principles of Water Sword Technique to their extreme.

Water benefits all things without competing.

The torrential rain stopped beside the old man, and all the water droplets were used by him.

Quiet, inclusive, and magnanimous.

Mr. Haoran's Fire Sword Technique is a pure Yang sword technique. Influenced by evil magic, it has an even more mad flavor. The crazy sword fire soars into the sky, like hellfire that wants to burn everything.

The raging fire met the still water.

Ji Jiashu stared blankly at the battle between the two, realizing that he knew far too little about the world of cultivation.

Almost all the cultivators present stopped wielding their swords and stared blankly at the rare and extraordinary battle unfolding before them.

"To be honest, it's been almost twenty years since they last fought each other."

Ji Mo watched this scene quietly, then suddenly spoke.

"Father?" Ji Jiashu looked at him.

“They were good friends when they were young,” Ji Mo said calmly. “Their relationship was probably like yours and Xu Yishan’s.”

"Is...that so?" Ji Jiashu was stunned, and at the same time, his mood became extremely heavy.

When he entered the Jixia Academy, these two elders had always been at odds. He originally thought they were enemies, but he never expected them to have such a past.

"After the Azure Dragon God disappeared, Zhenshan's cultivation plummeted, while Haoran was regarded as the successor to the next High Priest. The two gradually drifted apart."

Ji Mo stared expressionlessly at the battle before him. "The Azure Dragon God has returned, and it seems that Zhen Shan's cultivation level has also recovered."

He used his newly acquired swordsmanship to bid farewell to his old friend.

"When water and fire are properly controlled, they interact and achieve harmony. When water and fire are not properly controlled, burning and drowning can occur instantly. This applies not only to water and fire, but to everything. Some people only know how to use water and fire, but do not understand the true meaning of water and fire."

Hearing his father chanting, Ji Jiashu asked in a daze, "Father, what is this...?"

"This is 'Ode to Water and Fire,' composed by the previous chief priest," Ji Mo said softly, gazing at the water and fire merging together before him. "It's over."

With a deafening roar, the massive sword fire and water dragon collided, creating a cloud of water mist.

What followed was an atmosphere of annihilation.

The fog dissipated, leaving only two figures, one kneeling and one standing, on the open ground.

Mr. Haoran knelt on the ground, his face already ashen, with a long sword stuck in his chest.

Mr. Zhenshan stood before him, holding the hilt of the long sword in his hand.

He had his back to Ji Jiashu, so Ji Jiashu couldn't see the expression on the old man's face.

With a snap, the hilt of the longsword that had pierced through Mr. Haoran's chest broke off and fell onto the bluestone ground.

All the water droplets hanging around Mr. Zhenshan fell down in an instant.

Mr. Zhenshan stood in the middle of the open space, soaked to the bone, his white beard stuck to his chin, quietly watching his old friend who was about to pass away.

"you……"

Mr. Haoran's eyes rolled upwards, and his lips moved slightly.

“Junior brother, you should go to the underworld first to see our master,” Master Zhenshan said softly.

Black blood gushed from Mr. Haoran's mouth, and his body fell to the ground with a thud.

His body instantly burst into black flames, burning it completely.

"Hey!" Ji Mo appeared instantly beside the corpse, frowning as he looked at the pile of black ash on the ground.

Destroy corpses and destroy traces.

"It leaves absolutely no trace."

Mr. Zhenshan was also somewhat shocked. He looked around at the academy leaders and disciples who were lying on the ground, then swept over them, checked them all, and returned to say, "They just fainted."

“By the time they wake up, the Heart-Eating Gu should be cured,” Ji Jiashu said, then took out a packet of pills from his pocket and handed it to Mr. Zhenshan. “This is medicine prepared by Baoyue. After these people wake up, let them take it, and it will expel all the impurities from their bodies.”

"Was it paired with Baoyue?"

Mr. Zhenshan took it, his expression complex. "Did she already know that the Jixia Academy would face such a calamity?"

Ji Jiashu shook his head. "Before I left, Baoyue only told me that it might be useful."

He recalled the corpses he had seen along the way, his heart heavy. "I'm sorry we're too late, we really didn't expect this..."

Mr. Zhenshan raised his hand to stop Ji Jiashu from blaming himself, saying, "This is not something you should apologize for."

"It was an internal mishap at the Jixia Academy that led to the infiltration of a traitor."

"Haoran was murdered by his own disciple. I did not stop it in order to protect myself. If anyone is guilty, I should be the first to be punished."

Mr. Zhenshan stepped back and bowed deeply to Ji Mo, saying, "This old man thanks the Grand Preceptor for rescuing me from this predicament."

"The Jixia Academy will never forget the great kindness and virtue of the Imperial Preceptor."

“This is my duty, and besides, I’m late,” Ji Mo looked around, his face as cold as water. “In the end, that person got away with it.”

"that person?"

Mr. Zhenshan frowned. "Is there someone else behind this?"

"Let's not talk about that for now," Ji Mo glanced at him, "Inspect the damage inside and outside, I need to report to His Majesty."

……

……

Half a day later, Ji Jiashu met Mr. Zhenshan again in the main room of the martial arts hall.

The old man's face was full of wrinkles and he looked exhausted, as if he had aged ten years in a single day.

"Is the verification complete?"

Ji Mo sat in the main seat and asked.

Mr. Zhenshan nodded. "Of the twelve heads of the Twelve Palaces of Heaven, three have passed away. Including Haoran, we have lost four heads."

"More than half of the Earth-rank disciples in each palace have been lost, with forty-seven missing and two hundred and ninety-seven dead."

Upon hearing this number, Ji Jiashu's hands trembled violently.

He knew better than anyone how much effort and resources it would take to train a disciple who could reach the Earth Rank, and these disciples were the reserve force for advancing to the Heaven Rank in the future.

These disciples are the hope of the entire Southern Chu and even the entire cultivation world. The sudden loss of so many Earth-rank disciples could even lead to a generational gap in the cultivation world of the Central Plains.

“The number of disciples below the Earth Rank has not yet been calculated,” said Master Zhenshan. “The corpses on Guangshan Road have not yet been cleared, and there are other disciples who have died in infighting in various palaces.”

After this battle, the entire Jixia Academy, and even the entire cultivation world of the Central Plains, suffered a severe blow.

Ji Jiashu felt as if he were in an ice cellar, and instinctively looked at his father beside him.

Ji Mo, as the leader of the cultivation world in the Central Plains, would probably be even more shocked to hear this news.

However, after listening to Mr. Zhenshan's words, Ji Mo closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time before opening them.

"It's just that more than half of them were lost, not that they were completely wiped out."

"The current priority is to rebuild the Jixia Academy as soon as possible."

He looked at Mr. Zhenshan and said, "It's time to elect a new headmaster of the academy."

"When water and fire are properly controlled, they interact and achieve harmony. When water and fire are out of control, burning and drowning can occur instantly. This applies not only to water and fire, but to all things. Some only know how to use water and fire, but do not understand their true meaning." —Song Dynasty, Shao Yong, "Ode to Water and Fire"